Technical Field
The invention relates to a trailing-edge segment for increasing a profile depth of a rotor blade of wind turbine, to a rotor blade, and to a wind turbine. The invention additionally relates to a coupling means.
Description of the Related Art
Wind turbines are known in general. The design of the rotor blade, or rotor blades, is an important aspect for the efficiency of the wind turbine. One possibility for making such a rotor blade more powerful and efficient is the body of the rotor blade. Particularly in the region of the rotor-blade root, i.e., in the region at which the rotor blade is attached to the hub, it is useful to design the rotor blade with a large profile depth. The maximum profile depth of the rotor blade, i.e., the length of the rotor blade between the trailing edge and the nose of the rotor blade, has its maximum value very close to the end region of the rotor blade, on the hub side of the rotor. Such an increase in the profile depth in the region of the rotor-blade root can reduce vortex formation at this location, and thus results in an increase in the efficiency of the wind turbine.
Particularly in the case of larger wind turbines, having rotor blades greater than 80 meters, such an increase in the profile depth of the rotor blade may result in problems in transporting the rotor blades. Such rotor blades may have a maximum profile depth of 5 meters or more. During transport, for example over land, it therefore becomes difficult, or in some cases impossible, to pass under a bridge with such a rotor blade. It is therefore sometimes necessary to accept diversions, such that transport is only possible with a very large resource deployment.
To solve this problem, it is already known to produce a rotor blade having a separate trailing-edge segment that is attached to the rotor blade only when in situ, i.e., at the wind-turbine installation site. The height of the rotor blade can thus be reduced substantially for transport, thereby also reducing the logistical resources deployed in transport. Frequently, however, attaching such known trailing-edge segments to the rotor blade is complicated. In particular, it is often complicated to attach the trailing-edge segment at the wind-turbine installation site, assembling is resource-intensive, and consequently construction of the entire wind turbine in situ requires a large expenditure of time.
To solve this problem, the document DE 10 2012 209 935 A1 has already disclosed a rear casing for a rotor blade, having a top segment and a bottom segment. The top segment and the bottom segment in this case can be coupled to each other. What is problematic in this case is that, in some instances, it is not possible to adhere to a necessary exact production. Moreover, in the case of such a connection, the introduction of force is one-sided, with the result that a moment acts upon the connecting element. Since the rotor blade is subjected to large loads precisely in the region of the rotor-blade root, in strong wind the action of this moment can result in damage to the connection.
In the priority-establishing German patent application, the German Patent and Trade Marks Office searched the following documents: DE 10 2012 209 935 A1, DE 10 2006 022 279 A1, DE 20 2011 103 091 U1 and DE 10 2013 101 232 A1.